Questioning the accuracy of Sri Lanka’s Civilian Hostages

By: Shenali Waduge

03 February 2008
The last census of Mullaittivu population was taken in 1981. The population was no more than 77,189, Since then with the LTTE dominating the North population census has been only “estimated”. The quotes of civilian hostages have shot up from 250,000 to a staggering 400,000 in an area not more than 230sq.km when Sri Lanka’s total Tamil population itself is 2.4million. Combined with this international media channels are showing age-old footage (belonging to banned front organizations of the LTTE) to depict the plight of the civilians caused by Government fire. It is only a matter of time that the truth will reveal itself & expose the falsehoods of all those who have benefited by the conflict.

It is interesting how words like “many”, “tens of thousands”, “humanitarian crisis” enjoy greater place & afford greater drama across media channels then simply asking Sri Lanka’s Resident Coordinator “exactly how many civilians are being kept by the LTTE”, “how were these figures derived”, “are these figures just assumptions only” ….none of these questions are ever asked & it is interesting to know why they are never asked & why it becomes easier to always blame a democratically elected Government over a terrorist group banned in 33 countries.

Some of the international “humanitarian” websites have been extremely critical of Sri Lanka: The headline of Medecin Sans Frontier says “250,000 civilians trapped in intense fighting in Sri Lanka MSF is standing by with medical staff and supplies, but has not been permitted to enter the area since the government told all NGOs and UN to leave the area in September 2008?

The Amnesty International website reveals thus “Sri Lankan government forces have pushed the Tamil Tigers out of all major urban areas they had held for nearly a decade and into a small pocket of land. More than 300,000 civilians who have fled the oncoming government troops are also trapped in this small area. They have been displaced multiple times and are increasingly vulnerable as fighting moves closer.” Almost echoing the same message is Human Rights Watch in their website “The LTTE has long prevented civilians under its control from fleeing to government-held areas. As the LTTE has retreated into its stronghold in the northern Wanni area since the start of a Sri Lankan army offensive in October 2008, the rebel group has forced civilians deeper into territory they control.”

At the rate the LTTE actually fled these “urban” areas it arouses our imagination to imagine how 300,000 could have fled simultaneously in to the thick jungles of Mullaittivu & how if at all a retreating LTTE is able to manage these people! We then have LTTE’s political head B. Nadesan saying that “We have been very clear that any individual who wishes to leave the combat zone has an individual right to move anywhere,” immediately following President Rajapaksa’s 48 hour deadline to release all civilians kept as human shields by the LTTE, which implies that the quoted number of civilians desire not be with the LTTE! This leaves very little option & does not warrant any to blame Sri Lanka’s military.

There is also much uproar over deaths of children without exploring the possibility that these children may have been part of the LTTE’s child soldier brigade. Something that human rights advocates cannot deny as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, said in a press release on January 21, 2009 that the LTTE (Tamil Tigers from Sri Lanka) needs to immediately release children held in its ranks.

This immediately raises the need to take DNA samples of all children killed in the present war zone to actually ascertain if they have been child combatants (even if it is by will or by force that they joined the LTTE) since there are many ready to placate Sri Lanka’s armed forces.

Many must wonder why media outlets are viewed as biased & manipulating information. In Sri Lanka’s context the BBC has been at the fore front of manipulation of information & the CNN morning news (5:30a.m. / 2nd Feb 09) revealed video clippings to allow viewers to feel that the Sri Lankan Government troops are indiscriminately firing at civilians.

Unless viewers are alert & know to balance the version, he/she is likely to believe all that is being telecast. Firstly, the images the CNN relayed were those belonging to the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) – this organization is a front organization of the LTTE & is banned in the US & Sri Lanka & has been omitted from the UK Charity Listing for siphoning billions of tsunami funds to the LTTE instead of building houses for tsunami victims. Strangely enough even UN agencies (ADB, UNICEF, UNDP, Care, Oxfam…) Norwegian Government & other humanitarian agencies like Zoa, Sarvodaya, GTZ, NRC, DRC…have given large amounts of donations to the TRO.

The TRO doesn’t function in the North & has been closed since 2006. What many people are unlikely to wonder is the simple question that asks if media access is denied how can such footage be released – a little imagination will reveal that these footage is doctored & CNN is morally wrong to use old images to project a story as if it was happening in the present. Al Jazeera is similarly using some of the same TRO footage as well as showing footage taken from the Eastern Province….this does little to highlight their media ethnics. Impartiality of coverage should at all times remember that the LTTE cannot be given the same platform as Sri Lankan Government or its troops. The media must accept that the LTTE is nothing but a terrorist organization & eulogizing its terror while directing blame at the Government is not done at all.

Thus, Sri Lanka’s journey of eradicating terrorism has not been easy simply because there is a large force who have benefited from the situation. Sri Lanka will soon be able to judge what type of “work” these “humanitarian agencies” have been doing in Northern Sri Lanka but the bunkers, the bunds, the luxurious tiger dens, the sophisticated boats & runways for air crafts reveal that the tigers had plenty of “foreign support” by way of foreign expertise & equipment. Yet, the power of the statements of these foreign forces is able to garner international media coverage to echo their subjective & partial reporting of the war zone. The Government has not been affective in nullifying these statements. The few readers/viewers who are alert & take time to ascertain the truth behind the reporting will realize the extent to which media & these organizations are biased. In view of this we need to also wonder whether the reports on the happenings in other parts of the world are equally biased as well. This certainly does not do well for “impartial” & unbiased” media coverage.

When Jane’s Intelligence reported that the LTTE’s annual income was USD200million & their running costs only USD8million it implores us to wonder where the bulk of the money goes to & how it is distributed – this is important as one of the reasons for Karuna to deflect from the LTTE was because of his discontent over disbursement of funds to LTTE cadres in the East. This example once again upholding the issue of the caste factor amongst Tamils which a level up even divides Tamils amongst provinces with Northern Tamils thinking themselves far superior to Eastern Tamils,,,,the upcountry Tamils (Indian Tamils) are not even included or considered into this equation.

Those who enjoy promoting the “discrimination” theme as a reason for the LTTE to take up arms should explain what “discrimination” existed at the time of independence when Tamil political representatives demanded 50-50 representation. Did the Tamils not benefit by the Divide & Rule policy of the colonial rulers, were the Tamils not given missionary education (provided they converted of course) & then jobs which hitherto was denied to the majority Sinhalese, were the missionary schools not situated in minority areas only? Readers should wonder to what extent “discrimination” existed for Tamils under colonial rule when the Tamils were privy to the best that the colonial masters offered & yet why did they demand 50-50 representation? Obviously, the desire to have a “separate homeland” for the Tamils existed even during the early 1940s & it is this desire that the Tamil Nadu state nurtured but which Prabakaran hijacked & made into a very lucrative enterprise bestowing enough & more opportunities for those who joined his killer machine to receive their hand outs.

It is interesting how only some incidents are remembered while some are not. the 1983 July riots is one such incident & it is revered to depict the Sinhalese as malicious & hateful of the Tamils. This is a complete distortion for the reality was that the riots of 1983 were purely mob riots where Tamils were victims of mobs comprising not just Sinhalese but Muslims & Tamil thieves & underworld elements, organized by the present opposition UNP. The deaths were less than 600 but sufficed for a large refugee base to leave Sri Lanka & take up residence in western shores. Some of these Tamil “refugees” had nothing happen to their homes but the excitement & sympathy afforded them the opportunity to show another destroyed home to depict their case for refugee status.

Yet, just over 6 years following the July riots came a period of anarchy under the rule of President Premadasa. If many remember the 1988-1989 period it would be one far horrific than that of the few days in 1983. Much of the country was in darkness, going to work was accompanied with the fear of reaching home in the evening, dead bodies in tyres strewn across main roads – 10,000 or more Sinhalese had been killed, where were the Human Rights organizations during this time. They were very much present in 1983 but in 1988-1989 not a single voice came to protect the Sinhalese. Even today the Sinhalese feel that at that time the Government had little choice to crush the JVP insurgents who had killed many innocent people, popular personalities & even former President Chandrika Bandaranaike’s husband Vijay Kumaratunga. The majority Sinhalese disagreed with what the JVP were doing. However, it is unfortunate that the Tamil people’s voices have been frightened by the terror that the LTTE enjoys & even the thousands that are forced to shout slogans of ceasefire in foreign climes will anonymously say they have been forced to do so.

There were no voices against the LTTE when some 100,000 Muslims & a smaller number of Sinhalese were driven out of the Northern Province by the LTTE that was hitherto their home – it was never called “ethnic cleansing” & these people that the LTTE chased out need to once more return to their homes which shows that any others who wish to take up residence in all liberated areas have the right to do so.

Media channels & human rights organizations often enjoy gloating over their own status of “watchdogs” but given the manner in which they have been functioning in Sri Lanka & their sympathy towards the LTTE should make viewers & readers wonder why?

The civilian figures of 400,000 was too unbelievable a number to believe not only because of Sri Lanka’s actual Tamil population & the size of the area the LTTE is now restricted to but taking to consideration the practicality of having 400,000 retreat so swiftly as the forces advance. There is large scale uproar over a hospital being attacked & 6 civilians being killed…this too remains just a “statement” & it is indeed important for the world to note that since the armed forces embarked on their campaign to liberate the country of LTTE terror & despite the many aerial attacks on LTTE bases not a single civilian death has occurred – those who say “many” should promote the statement with proper evidence.

The armed forces have said that it will take a few days to take the only two towns that the LTTE now control & with it these organizations who have enjoyed fabricating figures, bloating up incidents, supporting a banned terror group will become exposed….their days of lies & shams will be as numbered as those of the LTTE.

Sri Lanka awaits this Independence with much hope – we the ordinary people comprising all the ethnic communities are now in a position to take the country forward because we will soon be rid of elements who hijacked our nation sensationalized it on international stages as if we suffered an ethnic problem.

All of us have lived together all the years, we have worked in our respective workplaces as one family, we share our cultures & traditions & this is the hope that we need to take forward & not the untruths & misinformation that is attempting to divide us.

The people need to be more alert & not allow the country to be under siege by these forces that have made merry as a result of the conflict.

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